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h ~ I= k l p I= q = k = f ~ ~ Pet dogs are treated the way they should be but stray dogs are not." Huma Iqbal, 24, assistant editor:

In our part of the world, only rich people can afford to keep dogs as pets. The way stray dogs are treated here is very sad. I wish we could come up with workable solutions to get rid of stray dogs.

Arsalan Khan 23, student: People keep dogs because they want to Only pet dogs are treated properly.

Faisal Nishat, 30, I.T. Administrator: People keep dogs because, as a wise man once rightly said, an average dog is nicer than an average person. Only pet owners treat their dogs properly. There should be a pound for stray dogs. --RA

political movement

Sindhi nationalism through the kaleidoscope of history

Zulfiqar Shah traces the history and transformation of nationalist movements in the province and their various forms over the past 170 years The history of Sindhi nationalism is basically a history of resistance movements and wars fought against foreign invasions across the centuries. Modern Sindhi nationalism, however, begins with the resistance against the British in the mid-nineteenth century. The entire movement can be divided into two parts: pre- and post-Partition.

1842 1900: The Talpurs' war and the Hur Guerrilla Movement

The pre-Partition wave begins with the Talpurs' war in 1842. This period, due to its characteristics, can be referred to as the 'early resistance' period (1842-1900), in which Sindh was conquered by Charles Napier at Miani near Hyderabad in March 1943 and annexed with the Bombay presidency. Insurgencies, however, immediately dominated the scene, beginning with uprising of Ranas under Karan Singh on April 15, 1859, in Tharparkar, a south-eastern desert district. Hundreds of fighters lost their lives in this insurgency, which was followed by mutiny in the army in Mirpurkhas and Karachi. A severe blow to the British rule in Sindh, however, was given by first Hur Guerrilla Movement in 1890 under the leadership of Syed Mardan Shah, the grandfather of Pakistan Muslim LeagueFunctional (PML-F) chief Pir Pagaro. Hundreds of fighters took part in this war, which continued for no less than a decade. Three main participants of this phase of the movement, however, caught the public eye. They were Bachu Badshah, Peeru Vazir and Gulu Government. 1900 1940: Socio-economic transformations and the rise of feudalism7

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The British, after conquering Sindh, patronised feudalism by offering an enormous number of fertile agriculture lands to individuals who pledged loyalty to the new Colonial rulers. A new phase of socioeconomic development began, which can be identified as a transitional period (1900-1940). Three quarters of the population comprised Muslims, while the remaining were Hindu. The majority of Hindus, traditionally, were shopkeepers, traders and professionals living in the urban hubs, while the Muslims remained landowners, tillers and herdsmen living in small villages, hamlets and remote huts. At the time of the British conquest only one million acres of land were irrigated. The population of Sindh was about 1.4 million, with about 25 per cent Hindus. The British transformed Sindh from medieval to modern through changes in the infrastructure, communication, education and the system of governance. Sindh was separated from Bombay and the Sindh Legislative Assembly was established in Karachi later in the 1930s. During this, Sindh supported the formation process of the Indian National Army under Subhash Chandra Bose and some young Sindhis also carried out some militant activities, which included blasts at several railway tracks. They were also involved in well-known bomb blasts in Delhi at the time.

1941 1943: The Hurs re-emerge

The second Hur Guerrilla Warfare period began in early 1941, under Sibghatullah Shah, the father of PML-F chief, Pir Pagaro. An area of about 25,000 square kilometres was converted into a battleground between the guerrillas and the British forces. To counter this, some 35,000 troops from the Baloch and Punjab regiments were installed in Sindh. Heavy artillery was also used, and eventually the first Martial Law in the history of the subcontinent was imposed in Sindh.

Post-Partition: Exodus of the middle class and the emergence of 'cultural nationalism' Sindh fought for its liberation for a hundred years, from 1843 to 1943. The partition of United India and the creation of Pakistan, however, was partially the result of the G.M Syed-led polity in Sindh from 1943 to 1947. Syed later disowned this. The creation of Pakistan, in its very beginning proved to be initiation of a new devastation in the social and national tranquillity of Sindh. An exodus of Sindhi Hindus from the province created a vacuum in society because they formed the sole petty-bourgeois and bourgeois classes of Sindh. The space left by them was occupied by immigrants from India who had a different culture and language and could not merge with Sindhi society as perfectly as was aspired by the leadership of the Muslim League Sindh. Besides, Karachi was separated from Sindh and was given to the federal government as the capital of the country. In 1954, the One Unit scheme was introduced to counter the numerical majority of East Pakistan. This laid the foundation of the destruction of Sindhi culture and gave Punjab the authority over the natural resources of the province. Between 1947 and 1970, Sindhi nationalism, sans the middle class, adopted the form of cultural nationalism.

1970 - 1990s: Z.A Bhutto, MRD, and nationalist resistance to military rule It was Z.A Bhutto, the founder and first chairman of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), who began transformation of Sindhi society by developing its middle class, this laying the foundations for social transition in Sindh. This undoubtedly influenced the Sindhi nationalist movement in form as well as content. After Bhutto's execution, Sindh entered a decade-long resistance against the military; causing hundreds of civil and military causalities. In its essence, the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) in Sindh was a nationalist resistance rather than a movement for democracy. Soon after General Ziaul Haq's death, the PPP came into power again, opening the corridors of opportunities for the people of Sindh, including the recently-born middle class, political cadres, and others. Thus, nationalist tendencies in Sindhi society become relatively milder than earlier. Contrary to this, the picture changed entirely during the regime of General (retd) Pervez Musharraf. December 27, 2007: The tide turns ~K K L L O M M VJ L JNQ JM SJO M M VL K @ R SL V

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h ~ I= k l p I= q = k = f ~ ~ After the murder of PPP Chairperson (and daughter of PPP founder Z.A Bhutto) Benazir Bhutto, nationalist tendencies in Sindh achieved mass outlook. A manifestation of this was witnessed during the first three days of her murder (she was assassinated in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007). As soon as the current PPP government completes its tenure, the new boom in Sindhi nationalism will become more visible. In the future course, it may take the Urdu-speaking community as a major ally. In fact, a new definition of contemporary Sindhi nationalism by cobbling together two linguistic parts -- Sindhi and Urdu -- can provide the foundation of a new form of Sindhi nationalism. --The writer is the Provincial Coordinator of South Asia Partnership Pakistan and can be reached at shahzulf@yahoo.com

strategy& tactics

Alternate vistas and directions

The influence and role of Sindhi nationalists has grown manifold following December 27, 2007. Indus Watch charts out how the current opposition to the influx of IDPs in the province connects with past grievances, 'conspiracies', and future strategies

Identity and identity politics have remained a quandary in Pakistani political history and societal evolution. Perhaps the fortunes of all regional nationalisms, Sindhi included, lie in the basis of how the Pakistani state has been structured the constant effort, and inability, on the part of the State to construct a nation-state out of a state-nation has naturally given birth to newer contradictions. The response of different nationalisms, especially Sindhi nationalism, to the matter of internal displacement of those migrating from Swat and adjoining areas is an acerbic manifestation of years of suppressed sentiments of alienation and exploitation. Muhammad Yaqoob Khan, Nazim of Baldia Town Union Council-6 and member of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP)-backed Awam Dost panel in the Karachi City Council, recently narrated the tale of a group of internally displaced persons (IDPs) trying to reach safer destinations. According to Khan, the IDPs were told "Pakistan Aagay Hai" (Pakistan lies ahead) at the Punjab border. If Punjabi chauvinism's response was hypocritical, Sindhi nationalists reacted with their own hawkish interpretation of internal migration by roundly rejecting the influx of IDPs into Sindh. The distrust of Sindhi nationalists is easy to understand Sindhis are grieved at their historical persecution, certainly during the era of modern day Pakistan. This persecution, they believe, stems from cultural and linguistic marginalisation, often by the Punjabi chauvinism of the establishment. More importantly though, the demand and importance attached to smaller cities in the rest of Sindh pales in relation to that of Karachi, allowing the residual culture of feudalism and of patron-client relationships in interior Sindh to act in favour of those with political clout. In mainstream politics, the basis for much of the PPP support in rural Sindh depends on these relationships. The struggle of different Sindhi nationalists groups to challenge the hold of the PPP in interior Sindh essentially translates into a failure to challenge the basis of social relationships in Sindh. However, bearing the burden of history in mind, expecting too much from a political segment under persistent persecution and the gaze of the State is ostensibly unreasonable. Similarly, lumping together all Sindhi nationalists would be a crass assumption. Even the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaaz (JSQM) has fractured into a number of parties, with varying degrees of radicalism imbibed in their political ideologies. The admitted persecution and witch-hunt faced by many Sindhi nationalist groups in the past has forced some political lines to even border upon an inversion of oppression today, yet he fundamental question for Sindhi nationalism today is whether it can survive in isolation, or would it have to collaborate and accommodate other nationalisms to make a sustained effort at redressing historical discrimination of oppressed nations? The "problem" of the IDPs will define the polarities that Sindhi nationalisms will broadly be based upon in future. If anything, the partition of the Indian sub-continent had many leaders, including Jinnah and Gandhi, declaring that they under-estimated the impact of communalism. While G.M Syed castigated "Punjabi imperialism", the conditions of the day underline US imperialism as the greater enemy with imperialisms of the comprador bourgeoisie in Pakistan working to protect their own interests within the parameters defined by US imperialism. Under G.M Syed's ideology, accommodation and understanding with other oppressed nationalities and persons is imperative, as his mission held peace and goodwill of humanity as the guiding principle. ~K K L L O M M VJ L JNQ JM SJO M M VL K @ R TL V